>> andrea: they say you have a hard job. >> greg: all right swept to wrap it up, i think. don't we? let's move on. that is it for "the five." thank you for watching. see you tomorrow. ♪ captioned by closed captioning services, inc >> bret: mitt romney caught op tape saying nearly half the country is dependent op government. they think they're victims. fatal faux pas? a game-changer? or media-driven frenzy? this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier with exactly seven weeks to go until election day. mitt romney may b with an assist from the left wing media. video has surfaced of the republican nominee making inelegant remarks that the obama campaign quickly

poupesed on. meantime, some conservatives are calling for more of the tone from governor romney. all of this comes as two new tracking polls had race at virtual dead heat. gallup has president obama leading by one point. rasmussen has governor romney up two. carl cameron begins our coverage tonight. >> reporter: mitt romney for the first time ever opened rundraiser for cameras today. it was in the works for weeks but comes amid new controversy for remarks caught on tape in may at rundraiser. romney spoke with neil neil cavuto. >> this is a message i am carrying day in and day out. this is the decision about the course of america and where we are going to head. we have seen the president's policies play out over the last four years. >> reporter: romney summoned the press for rare evening news conference to explain. >> it's not elegantly stated. i'll put it that way. >> reporter: on the tape from may, he referred to president's support in the polls.

democrats say he dissed half the country. >> the 47% with him believe they are victims and believe government has responseability to care for them and believe they are entitled to healthcare, food, housing, you name it. that is entitlement. they will vote for this president no matter what. they pay no incomes tax. >> reporter: according to the policy center, among 47% who don't pay income taxes, 61% pay the payroll tax, so they work. 44% is seniors medicare and social security entitlement romney vowed to protect. obama campaign manager jim messina pounced. "it's hard to service president for all miles per hours when you disdainfully written off half the nation." clips on the tape were on the web anonymously. the liberal >> manager: highlighted it yesterday and published the whole thing today. romney contends to win he needs to persuade the moderate swing voters not obama's liberal base.

>> not worry about those people. they say first the responsibility and care -- >> pollster rasmussen says the controversy will not change the contest. >> this is not going to be determined by the particular comment. having said that, it does show it was a stupid remark. and governor romney once again shows he is just not a great candidate. >> paul ryan in new hampshire chimed in on the obama dependency culture and government safety nets. >> we're worried about more and more people becoming net dependent on the government than themselves. >> white house spokesman jay carney was reminded of and totally dismissed. then primary candidate obama complaint in 2008 he could lose pennsylvania because the voters there "cling to guns or religion." >> he is out there fighting for every american regardless of whether or not they support him politically or support the democratic party. >> romney said those par tent to big government and debt favor obama. >> i recognize those who pay no tax, 47% on americans, i'm not highly to be successful

with the me sam of lowering taxes. likewise those reliant on government not atacted to the me sanel of slimming down the size of government. >> romney aides say he was describing voters with the choice seven weeks from today. romney made controversial remarks in pay casting doubt of two-state solution between israel and palestinians. >> the palestinians have no interest in establishing peac peace. and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish. >> the best way you can, you recognize it's going to remain unsolved. >> aides issued a statement reiterating what the governor often said. peace will not be possible if extreme element of the palestinian side refuse to come to table for talks or recognize israel right to exist. romney compared the israeli palestinian situation to china and taiwan.

long-standing state of constant tension that is unlikely to ever change. >> while romney was dealing with the controversy over his nearly 5-month-old remarks president obama was confronted with the open redistribution of wealth rhetoric from 14 years ago. >> the trick is figuring out how do we structure the government systems that pull resources, and facilitate some redistribution? because i believe in redistribution. at least at a certain level to make sure that everybody has a shot. >> i disagree. a society on government-centered nation where government plays a largeer and larmer goal, redistributes mup is the wrong course for america. that will not build a strong america or help people out of poverty. the right course for america is create growth, create wealth. not redistribute wealth. >> romney and the republican party hope to turn things around and planning new barrage of attack adds and say mr. obama comments from 14

years ago prove all along is the growth of government and redistribution of wealth. president told letterman regarding romney's comments anyone aspiring to be the president has to be willing to be the president for all americans. >> bret: much more on this with the panel. thank you. violence against u.s. diplomatic outpost is said to ease in some places. but gaining momentum in others. under fire, the administration action leading up to the deadly attack on the libyan consulate. here is chief white house correspondent ed henry. >> fresh american riots waiming in tie land and pakistan -- [ chanting ] questions for president obama about whether his administration ignored or missed warnings from libyan officials that they were having trouble controlling violence in benghazi before four americans were killed at the u.s. consulate. >> did the administration have any sort of heads up that violence was increasing specifically in libya before

the attack? >> i'm not aware of any, ed. there is a matter under investigation. what precipitated the attack, motivation of the attackers were, what role the video played in that. >> intelligence sources have told fox catherine herridge that before the attack, the cia had assessed eastern libya with deteriorating. today carney seemed to back pedal ever so slightly from ambassador susan rice's sunday declaration that the violence in libya was spontaneous reaction to that controversy anti-muslim film. >> in fact, this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. >> while carney did stand behind the video being a key factor, he opened the door to other possibilities being uncovered in the f.b.i. investigation. >> the cause and motivation behind them will be decided by the investigation.

>> there are other factors involved in the violence that ensued? >> new questions as well about the fact on september 10, the white house put out a press release saying that the president met with senior officials, about the security posture around the 9/11 anniversary. the release said the president discussed steps taken to protect u.s. persons and facilities abroad. asked if the administration dropped the ball on that promise, the following day in libya, carney said numerous security steps were takep and would not directly answer whether the security in benghazi was good enough. >> you are not trying to say there was enough security in benghazi, are you? >> this is a matter under investigation. absolute tragedy that we lost four americans in benghazi, including our ambassador, including the security personnel. there is an active investigation underway. in what happened. >> for specific questions about the security measures at u.s. installations, carney

referred that to the state department. spokeswoman victoria newland today walked back the priest claim that libyan security guards only operated outside the perimeter of the american consulate. >> thank you for that. because there was an error in what i said. >> today, newland clarified the administration had in fact hired a private security company blue mountain group to work inside the perimeter. >> they were hired to provide local libyan guards. who operated inside the gate doing things like operating the security access equipment, screening the cars. >> there are reports that the libyan security guards turned on the ambassador and that led to his death. late today, secretary hillary clinton said there was no actionable intelligence about an imminent attack in libya. the keyword being actionable there. meanwhile, the president late tonight taped an episode with dade letterman and said he -- david letterman and said he

has a new message for the muslim world. you need to work with us to protect american lives. >> bret: more with the panel as well. ed henry on the north lawn. thank you. u.s. economy, confidence among u.s. home builders at six-year high. the latest index shows the best numbers since june of 2006 before the housing collapse. the dow was back up today. gaining 12. the s&p 500 dropped two. the nasdaq lost one. fedex says the global economy is stalling. it will get worse next year. the shipping company has sharply cut its earnings forecast. largely because of the steep decline in asian exports due to weakness in europe. car sales are also tanking in europe. ford's business plunged 2% in august from a year ago. ford is considering factory cuts. what do you think about the economy? how is it affecting you? let me know on twitter. democrats can't figure out what the american military looks like. we'll explain why later in the grapevine.

up next, obama administration and liberal website teaming up against the american free press. copd makes it hard to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene.

advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than twice a day. people with copd taking advair may have a higher chance of pneumonia. advair may increase your risk of osteoporosis and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking advair. if you're still having difficulty breathing, ask your doctor if including advair could help improve your lung function. get your first full prescription free and save on refills at advaircopd.com. [ male announcer ] introducing a reason to look twice. the entirely new lexus es and the first-ever es hybrid.

this is the pursuit of perfection.

>> bret: if you want to read something negative about this channel or other nontraditional media there is a website that provides one-stop shopping. now we're learning that website has been cooperating with your federal government to suppress the press. chief washington correspondent james rosen tells us how. >> good to see you. >> jamie, good morning. >> reporter: six months ago, tea party figure justin phillips appeared on fox news to advance the claim, hotly disputed by the obama administration, operation "fast and furious" was designed to usher in draconian gun control laws. at the department of justice, someone was watching closely, because 90 minutes later, tracy smaller, director of the department office of public affairs e-mailed a crypt to matt gertz, media matters of

america. you see this? , he wrote? completely false. wide receiver, hernandez to gun tracing operation launched under the bush administration put this to a lie. there has been lots of coverage on priest bush operation. by that afternoon, media matter website featured a blog post critical of the phillips segment. that attorney general eric holder's advisors worked closely with the media matters is the chief revelation from 69 pages of d.o.j. documents that the department belatedly provided under the freedom of information act to the conservative web site the daily caller. >> it's clearly a pure unadulterated attempt to lie about the news. in one case, we have a spokesman from the justice department e-mailing media matters and saying why don't you do a story on this? i saw something on fox. i like it and why don't you attack it. >> founded in 2004 by dade brach the conservative reporter turned liberal activist, media matters is tax exempt non-profit posing media bias. in the reality, their sole

mission underwritten in part by george soros is the destruction of fox news. the group started out using conventional 4-hour monitor technique but turned to cecent years to use of private detective and other message that brach himself characterized as waging of war on fox. >> utilize them as your proxy, engaging in dispute whether it's on the new black panther party and defile of the department of justice to bring civil right action against them or on the coverage of fast and furious should raise serious concerns. >> the justice department declined to comment. spokessman media matters said he could comment only if he could appear live on the network. >> bret: thank you. iran latest military bluster tops world headlines. the state media says iran deployed one of the russian-made submarines to the persian gulf. the u.s. and allies conduct naval exercises nearby. meanwhile, in turkey, iran top nuclear negotiator met with

the european union representatives in an effort to resume talk on the republic nuclear program. attack from afghan against the nato trainer called off operation at least for now. what looks like victory for the insurgents and defeat for the president's afghan strategy for now. jennifer griffin has the story from the pentagon. >> female suicide bomber allegedly motivated by the anti-islam youtube video kills 12 today in kabul. three insider attack in three days. friday, brazen attack on the u.s. base since the start of the war 11 years ago at the main marine come pound if southern afghanistan. 15 taliban attackers dressed in the u.s. military uniforms breached the perimeter. torched three hangars. destroyed six carrier jets and kill a marine lieutenant colonel. the top u.s. commanderrer in afghanistan ordered a halt on

patrols, where two or three afghan work with team of mentors raising questions about the president and the pentagon exit strategy. >> i don't think the attack indicates that taliban is stronger. it indicates that they are resorting to efforts that tri to strike at our forces try to create chaos. but do not in any way result in regaining territory that has been lost. >> 51 u.s. and nato service members murdered since the start of the year by the so-called afghan partners trained by nato. many in uniform. a great deal of frustration at the coalition level according to the former british commanderrer in parliament. >> i'm fed up with watching the seriously good seasonals waste their lives, have the lives wasted by people who are meant be our friends.

>> the white house insists the move does not accelerate the timeline for withdrawal or removal of combat troops in 2014. >> it doesn't reflect the timeline. the issue is partnering with the security forces. i can imagine the argument made and i'm sure that within the obama white house, some people will make that argumen argument. this is one more indicator we don't have a viable working relationship. limit exposure. hope afghans hold it together. >> pentagon describes the move as prudent response to recent events. commanders can carry out the large-scale joint operation with the afghans on a case-by-case basis. >> jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. thank you. >> the chicago public school teachers are ending the strike. they met today to consider the latest proposal from the city. hearing had been scheduled for

tomorrow. on the mayor request teachers be ordered back to class. there is a deal we're told. we don't have specifics. we bring it to you as we get it. still ahead, not one, not two, but three segments with the fox all-stars tonight. same low price. first, what undecided voters are saying about issues other than the economy. all multivitamins give me the basics. they claim to be complete. only centrum goes beyond. providing more than just the essential nutrients, so i'm at my best. centrum. always your most complete. till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8...

♪ [ male announcer ] how do you engineer a true automotive breakthrough? ♪ you give it bold new styling, unsurpassed luxury and nearly 1,000 improvements. introducing the redesigned 2013 glk. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services.

>> bret: in 1992, bill clinton ran on the slogan "it's the economy, stupid." 20 years later we all thought the economy was again going to decide the election. it still might. but chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel tells us tonight current events have pushed foreign policy off the back burner. >> at the historic restaurantbe in virginia, the

upcoming presidential election is the hot topic. undecided voters in battleground state have a variety of issues on their minds. >> i'm still undecided. it's a close race. my biggest concern is social security issues. >> medicare is one. safety of the world is the other, because it's really getting unsafe with all of the things going in, in the eastern world. >> i will decide at the last moment, which way i'll go. i'm not a democrat. i'm not a republican. >> with the recent violence in middle east, voter ins other battleground states such as florida an ohio say they are keenly aware of the national security threats and are factoring them in the voting decisions. in virginia, major concern as well. >> national security right now is important to me. i'm not sure that the current president has a grasp on what he needs to do with the foreign policy. >> it's the economy. it's also the threat of terrorism, globally and here in the united states. the third, i think about my children a lot.

what their future is like. >> a small business owner says the federal regulations made it difficult to add employees. >> if we hire the additional people we have to hire an outside firm to main tain and make sure we stay in regulation or we have to hire individuals a bring them on board to do that. >> an undecided voter says she is leaning toward one candidate for the economy and the other on social issues. >> i struggle whether i should decide on the pocketbook or the social issues. the two parties are very, very different. >> experts predict the obama and the romney campaigns will continue a significant push in virginia. to win over the undecided. >> virginia is one of the closest of the tossup states. it's nearly tied if you ample out the polls. as a consequence, the two or three or 4% hard undecided could easily make the difference.

a number of undecided voters are sick of the campaign ads and tired of the robo calls asking for their votes. but with 13 electoral votes at issue here, the calls are likely to increase. >> bret: alpha natural resources says it's cut production by 1 million-tons a eliminating 1200 jobs. the company will close eight mines in virginia, west virginia and pennsylvania. house is expected to vote on a coal bill thursday and take up five coal measures next week. coal or what the republicans call the administration war on coal is a big election issue in several battleground states. a source tells fox business network bank of america's web site has been experiencing sporadic outals related to a cyber attack that may be tied to islamic terrorist group. that group says it's allied with muslims angry over what it calls the american zionism.

and that video mocking islam. it's also threatped to launch cyber attack on the new york stock exchange. victory late today for arizona immigration law. federal judge ruled that police can enforce the part of the law requiring officers to question status of the suspected illegal immigrants. governor brewer calls the law one more tool that her officers can use to reduce crime and other impacts associated with the illegal immigration in the communitie communities. local governments in washington have a need for speed. another military mixup at the military co convention? could it be? grapevine is next. ♪ and even more from real families who use them like this. we think there's another test to consider. it's based on one simple question. after living with your van, would you buy it again? more town & country owners do

than the owners of any other minivan. it's called the test of ownership, and to us, it's the most important test there is. yeah. yeah. then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...allstate safe driving bonus check? what is that? so weird, right? my agent, tom, said... [ voice of dennis ] ...only allstate sends you a bonus check for every six months you're accident-free... ...but i'm a woman. maybe it's a misprint. does it look like a misprint? ok. what i was trying... [ voice of dennis ] silence. ♪ ask an allstate agent about the safe driving bonus check. are you in good hands? after you jumped buship in bangkok,n. ask an allstate agent about the safe driving bonus check. i thought i'd lost you. surfing is my life now. but who's going to .... tell the world that priceline has even faster, easier ways to save you money. . . on hotels, flights & cars? you still have it. i'll always have it.

so this is it? we'll see where the waves take me. sayonara, brah!

without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's. starts with ground beef, unions, and peppers baked in a ketchup glaze

with savory gravy and mashed russet potatoes. what makes stouffer's meatloaf best of all? that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. let's fix dinner. >> bret: now fresh pickings from the political grapevine. another possible photo foul-up at the democratic convention. we told you that democrats had to apologize for using a photo of four soviet era russian warships in a huge backdrop intended to show support for american veterans. the navy times which was the first to report on the original slipup got a tip that the planes in this photo are from another country as well. the daily caller quotes the military experts saying the military jets are not u.s. military jets. and are leakily tushish jets. we reached out the democratic party for comment but have not heard back yet. as carl cameron reported earlier, the white house press secretary jay carney faced questions today whether the

leaked video showing mitt romney is comparable to an incident back in 2008. when then senator obama said bitter rural voters in pennsylvania were clinging to guns and their religion. here is what carney had to say about that back when he worked for "time." >> he's got problems. he is exposed a huge weakness in this past week with the comments about small town pennsylvanians. because it reinforces a perception that he is urban and urbane, but not well-connected to the small town america. >> bret: and here is what he said today. >> now time to bring up your april 14 column from 2008 when you said the president words were poorly chosen on the guns? >> i don't remember that column. [ laughter ] i honestly don't. >> i can read the whole thing for you if you want. >> i think president, then candidate addressed this at the time. >> bret: apparently the rules are different for

official vehicles here in the district of columbia. or at least the taxpayers-supported drivers think so. local t station reports that d.c. workers driving official vehicles have racked up, get this $367,000 in traffic tickets. over the last year-and-a-half. $36 #,000. 2600 tickets issued. including 700 for running red lights and 150 for going at least 21 miles over the speed limit inside the city of d.c. that is tough to do. that brings us back to the main story today. that is that hidden videotape, you saw the tape. take another look. romney's response. >> 47% of the people who will vote for president. 47% who are with him, who are believe they are victims, a believe the government has responsibility to care for them. these are people who don't pay

taxes. 47% of americans pay no income tax. our message of low taxes doesn't connect. they'll be talking about tax cuts if for rich. that's what they hear every four years. my plan is not to worry about those people. >> it's not elegantly stated. put it this way, i'm speaking off the cuff in response for a question. i recognize people not paying the income tax will say gosh, this provision that mitt is talking about lowering income taxes is not attractive to them. those dependent on government and those that think government job is redistribute. it won't get them. >> bret: what about all of this? bring in the panel. steve hayes, senior writer for stand stand. charles lane, opinion writer for "washington post." syndicated columnist charles krauthammer. panel is in early. three segments tonight. okay. thoughts on the video? charles? >> well, it wasn't very artful. not sure it will be very hur hurtful. the media have gone apoplectic

over this. what romney is talk about the way he ought to address it is say when we talk about obama, his philosophy and his base. they believe in the government's central role in their life. they believe in victimization and entitlement. that is the philosophy. you can point to a lot of things. the speaker at convention, sandra fluke. a woman who is law school to make $160,000 as a starting salary in the private sector. what is her great demand? why was she the big star? demanding the ordinary americans average income $50,000 pay her contraceptives. that is personification of the idea of entitlement. of victimization. that is entire idea. ask not what you can do for your country ask what your country can do for you. this is exactly what romney is

talking about. but the problem is he mixed in the 47%. he is talking about the obama constituency, and he shouldn't speak about roughly half the americans who don't pay income tax. you can't save them, many of whom are senior citizens. on social security. you can't say to them they have a sense of being a victim. that's where he screwed up. just ignore it. talk about what obama is doing about welfare, the cartoon of julia, a woman living her life off intervention and the generosity of the government. speak about the obama philosophy. >> bret: does it hurt him? obama campaign pounced. does it hurt him in the swing states and the already fertile ground that the obama campaign tried to lay with commercials early on about the time at

bain capital? >> we will soon find out. obama campaign will do focus group around the message with the swing state to find out how it works best in tv ads. when they figure that out, they will put the ads on tv. problem for -- there are many problems in this for romney. but one is it's a piece of video so it can be used in tv ads very vividly. you know, his problem is he like president obama in 2008 was sitting there in a group of his pals, his donors and let his hair down and said what they all really think about the other guys electorate. it wasn't much truer than what obama said in 2008. but unlike 2008, he only has six weeks to recover from it, when then candidate obama had six months. >> bret: is there a side to this that somehow there is jujitsu that the romney campaign can do in a bad situation looking at the text?

and make it a bigger issue about government, largess and the bigest in of government and how it plays in the deficit? >> look, we have seven weeks away from the election and this is the key question for romney campaign. there is an opportunity here to make this about what i think it should have been about the entire time. romney meant to say the size and scope of government is detrimental to growth of company, moral liquor roseivly . this should be about the size and scope of government. but unfortunately for romney that is not what he said. he got the political argument confused with his substantive argument and made a hash of it. that part of it he will be criticized on and should be. the big question going forward is can he turn this in to something that allows him to make a bigger argument.

in that sense, it's wise for his campaign to do a speech and do it soon. romney cam pape wanted to run it as a ref run dumb. it's not a ref run dumb. it's a choice. the argument make the choice clearer and they should be do everything they can to sharpen those contrast. >> bret: because, charles, as you point out, 47% don't pay federal income taxes but of those 60% pay payroll taxes and other taxes. so you are kind of blocking out a lot of folks. >> yeah. that is the wrong number, the wrong constituency. the irony almost half americans don't pay incomes tax of the result of what reagan and bush junior did. cutting taxes. they had a sense it ought to be a benefit.

there are the ones that created half of them, a large constituency of americans who have no stake in what the rates are. but he mixed two constituency and should stick with the liberal hardcore believe in dependency. make argument on that. >> bret: we'll continue this discussion. tax structure and president obama responds for the first time. we get that. more to talk about. stick around. endless shrimp is our most popular promotion

at red lobster. there's so many choices, the gues love it! [ male announcer ] don't miss endless shrimp. try as much as you like, anyway you like. like new teriyaki grilled shrimp for just $14.99! my name is gela trapp, and i sea food differently. insulifreestyle lite can. help you test easy. my name is gela trapp, they need a third the blood of onetouch ultra. zipwik tabs target the blood and pull it in. call now for free strips and a meter. [ chuckles ]

♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ male announcer ] now you'll know when to stop. [ hk! ] the all-new nissan altima with easy fill tire alert. [ honk! ] it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ ♪ innovation that excites.

forz(power!) . hahaha...hahahaha! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? happier than christopher columbus with speedboats. that's happy! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. one thing i learned as president is you represent the entire country. when i meet republicans, as i travel around the country, they are hard-working, family people. who care deeply about this country, and my expectation is that if you want to be president you have to work for everybody.

not just for some. >> bret: president obama reacting to the romney video op david letterman before a rundraiser with beyonce and jay-z. back with the panel. chuck, your reaction to that? >> well, he was enjoying that moment so richly. just so in his wheel house, such an easy soft b.p. for him to knock out of the park. -- softball for him to knock out of the park. romney created an opportunity for him and he went for the right theme. the real weakness in what romney said i don't have to worry about them, right? the 47%. of course, we understood it was a political comment. but it can be construed to me once i get to be president i don't need to worry about the them. >> bret: he tried to clean it up for cavuto. >> but the president was bound to jump on it and he did. >> what romney jumped on today with neil twice mentioning the

tape that surface on the drum report from 1998 -- drum report from 1998, with obama giving a speech at loyola university where he says on the tape that some redistribution, i actually believe in redistribution. when it comes to government. that government can work. in so many words. i don't have the full context here. romney referred to it twice today. what about that? >> make the argument. a good arguement to make. going to 1998 to me does nothing but show the president held the views for a long time. we see evidence that he believes this. in the 2008 presidential debate about the captain gains and if you bring in more re-knew cutting the capital gains taxes should you do it? he seemed perplexed and said no, because of well, you know, fairness. you had his comments to joe the plumber, you had basically making an argument all along. we have established clearly

and without question that the president of the united states believes in redistribution of wealth. that is something i think that romney could campaign on, could build an argument around and build hypothetically a speech around. could do himself good. >> bret: last thing on this tape, charles. another part in which romney is heard saying that the stins are not in on the peace process. they essentially don't want peace. that a solution is really impossible to get to. >> this caused a media fire storm. romney was absolutely and completely right. in fact, the "washington post" on the news story said that this appears to be at odds with the republican position of a two-state solution. in what way? nibble a two-state solution. i also believe i will never live to see a peace agreement. the reason is the one that romney stated. the palestinians are not interested in peace. with the jewish state. it goes back 60 years. they have not attended negotiations in two years and he rejected on offer in 2008.

no interest in this. the evidence for the palestinian disinterest uninterest in peace, with jewish state is overwhelming, undeaniable, historical, empirical. and the idea romney misspoke is completely false. strong letter to follow. >> bret: something tells me more of this tape will continue to come out over the coming days as the entire thing has come out. how long is a news story is another question. next up, questions about what the administration knew of possible attack in middle east in northern africa? when did they know it? in america today we're running out of a vital resource we need to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university, we're teaming up with companies like cisco to help make sure everyone's ready

with the know how we need for a new tomorrow. [ male announcer ] make sure america's ready. make sure you're ready. at devry.edu/knowhow. ♪

did the administration have any sort of heads-up that violence was increasing specifically in libya before the attack? >> i'm in the aware of any, ed. this is a matter that is under investigation in terms of what precipitated attacks, what the motivation of the attackers were, what role the video played in that. >> bret: the answer is changing a bit as the days continue here to the questions about who knew what when and exactly what role the anti-islam video has played. there is new poll out tonight by nbc and the "wall street journal" about the president's handling of foreign policy. it came out after all of the embassy and consulate back and forth and the attacks. it says that 49% approve of the president's handling. 26% disapprove. that is down from 54% approving last month. his foreign policy handling. what you don't see here is and it's written up on the website, that only 41% of

independents approve of the president's foreign policy handling, versus 53% who did so last month. according to the this poll. that is a significant drop in a short time. when it comes to foreign policy. and one would think it is surrounding the handling of this situation. back with the panel. steve? >> well, i think that is exactly what it suggests. look, you can't have the middle east, the greater middle east on fire. or these demonstrations across the globe and not have it have impact on the man who has been in charge for three-and-a-half years. people recognize this their gut this is paying the price for weakness. whatever the president wants to say, however he wants to eng plain what has happened here, we are paying the price for weakness. this is another reason that romney was wise to step in and say something. i think highlights the fact that the president has done this if you look at what is

coming up now, fact they can't answer basic questions on the intelligence, that jay carney challenged ed henry when ed asked him about the warnings that the u.s. government had leading up to 9/11, about possible security problems and jay carney said well, you are conflating the two things. these are sort of basic questions that the white house is having very much difficulty answering. i think people get that. >> bret: it has been a tough couple of days. minus the video, which kind of turned the attention at least for a day here, maybe longer. it seemed like they had a tough time answering the erequests. >> romney played in obama's hands at the beginning to cause a kerfuffle and took attention from how the administration handled the situation. as bad as is it in egypt and

libya, the situation in afghanistan is potentially very dangerous. infiltration of the u.s. and other forces by taliban and other enemy groups is reaching the point now where we, our troops cannot work together. >> bret: they ended patrols. giant patrols. ended today. >> correct. the whole premise of the withdrawal plan for 2014 they will be trained up through joint patrolling. the exit strategy is now in trouble. yesterday in kabul, suicide bomb attack on foreigners blamed -- or the pretext for which was the video. obviously this is bad in general it's going on but politically the last shoe is to drop on that politically here. >> bret: charles, the president said on letterman that there are extremists, there will be more changes around the world. sometimes it may be dangerous. we have to remain engaged he

says, even when the countries criticize us. your point earlier this week and last week was that it seems that the country is not being totally engaged around the world. >> he is engaged in an accommodating, apologetic way, semily he put america in -- essentially he put america in retreat. the outstretched hands of syria and all of that. this is the policy he established proudly in ki owe three-and-a-half year -- cairo three-and-a-half years ago. now it's in flame, ruin. today we had riots to indonesia, philippines and thailand. it's not even just a middle east story anymore. this is the collapse of the thrust of obama policy in the middle east in front of our eyes. all obama said in charlotte all week bin laden is dead. he repeated it over and over. that is the only achievement. the policy, iran stuff, israel

policy, it's all sort of a disaster area. he says bin laden is dead. what do we hear from demonstrators? a million of lus die and black flag of al-qaeda was raised over american embassies in tunis, sudan, yemen, egypt and libya. that undermines entirely the obama argument on bin laden. >> bret: that is it for the panel. stay tuned. to see a mix of stories. and politics. ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision.

to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. [ man ] when i'm in my zone... every move i make is a statement... ♪ ...that inspires me to make my mark. ♪ [ male announcer ] the all-new lexus es 350. ♪ droid does. and does it launch apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4me. droid does.

keep left at the fork. does it do turn-by-turn navigation ? droid does. with verizon, america's largest 4g lte network, and motorola, droid does. get $100 off select motorola 4g lte smartphones like the droid razr.

and what they said is amazing. review 5-hour energy over 73 percent who reviewed 5-hour energy said they would recommend a low calorie energy supplement to their healthy patients who use energy supplements. seventy-three percent. 5-hour energy has four calories and it's used over nine million times a week. is 5-hour energy right for you? ask your doctor. we already asked 3,000. >> finally tonight. even before this romney videotape release, the romney campaign was trying to take the offensive quickly, trying turn things around, trying to find new ways to attract voters and get attention. one show says we may have missed a recent campaign swing to california. >> meanwhile, today mitt romney is on the campaign trail in